Hangzhou Zhongce in huge US tyre recall after gum strips omitted

Union, New Jersey -- A death and injury lawsuit has prompted a US tyre importer and distributor to ask the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for help in recalling nearly half a million Chinese-made light truck tyres.

In June, Foreign Tire Sales of Union, New Jersey, appealed to NHTSA for aid in recalling an estimated 450 000 light truck tyres sold under the names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS after the company allegedly learned that the manufacturer, the Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, had used an insufficient gum strip -- a feature that helps to keep the tyre belts from separating..

According to a report FTS filed with NHTSA, the company suspected that something was wrong with the tyres in October 2005, when it noticed a sharp increase in the number of warranty adjustments on the tyres, but Hangzhou officials assured them that the tyres were sound.

The company confirmed its suspicions in May 2006, after an ambulance crash in New Mexico prompted FTS to examine the blown tyre that caused the rollover. The company found that the Chinese manufacturer had failed to include the 0.6 mm gum strip between

the belts to keep them from separating. FTS stopped buying tyres from Hangzhou in June 2006, the report said.

According to Foreign Tire Sales report to NHTSA, it contracted the Hangzhou Rubber Company in 2000 to design and manufacture light truck tyres that FTS would import and sell. Hangzhou worked with FTS engineers to ensure that the tyres could meet all federal safety standards. At a May 2002 meeting, FTS stressed the importance of tire safety, informing the Chinese manufacturer that light truck tyres had been the focus of many recalls and were under government scrutiny. FTS urged Hangzhou to produce tyres with nylon cap plies to increase their endurance.

In September 2006, Hangzhou finally admitted to FTS that it had reduced or omitted the gum strip from an unspecified number of tyres FTS alleges. But Hangzhou officials told FTS that in January 2006, it began to reintroduce some amount of the gum strip back into the tyres. In March 2007, FTS did further testing and analysis on Hangzhou tires and found that they experienced tread / belt separations at 25,000 miles (40 000 km).

On August 12, 2006, Rafael B. Melo, Claudeir Jose Figueiredo and Carlos Souza, were passengers in a 2000 Chevrolet Express 2500 Cargo Van, bearing a Compass Telluride steel belted radial made in China in 2004. The van was traveling south on Pennsylvania Route 476, when the tyre experienced a tread / belt separation causing the van driver to lose control. The vehicle

rolled over and the three passengers were ejected. Melo and Figueiredo died in the crash. Souza suffered a permanent brain injury. The driver, who remained in the vehicle, suffered less severe injuries.

The families of three passengers sued FTS on May 4. The van driver also filed suit. The Melo, Figueiredo, and Souza lawsuit filed by Killino prompted FTS to file an $80 million lawsuit against the Hangzhou Rubber Company and notify NHTSA of the defect.

NHTSA warned consumers to be on the lookout for steel-belted radial light truck tyres sold under the names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS in the following sizes:

-- LT235/75R-15

-- LT225/75R-16

-- LT235/85R-16

-- LT245/75R-16

-- LT265/75R-16

-- LT3X10.5-15

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Press releasefrom NHTSA